Danny
by CSI001
Summary: Greg knows the victim at his crime scene and the team soon realises that they don't know each other as well as they thought. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This isn't my usual thing, but I really wanted to try it out, so please leave a review at the end to say if you liked it or not :) x**

**The Victim**

"Let's go." Russell said as they all stood up and left the break room.

It had been a relatively quiet couple of nights so the whole team was going out to a murder in the desert. The whole team sighed with relief when they were told they had a case; it was nice to have a break from all the horrors that they faced everyday but it was easy to get bored around the lab.

Once they arrived, everyone jumped out their trucks and went to take a look at the body.

"Poor guy." Nick said to which the team agreed.

A young man, possibly early thirties was strewn out along the hot sand, naked, with injuries covering his body.

"He was dumped here." Catherine stated as she looked around for any signs of a struggle and for evidence.

Morgan bent down next to the man and took a photo of something just below his hip. "I think this is the gay pride symbol he's got tattooed on him. I dare say he's gay, could be a hate crime?" She suggested.

Sara nodded along with the others. "So we have a possible motive. When David get's here we'll get a fingerprint and see if we can find out whom our John Doe is. Maybe then we can confirm it."

Russell was looking at Greg, studying him. He had hardly even blinked since they arrived, only staring at the body. "You alright there?" He asked snapping him out of the trance like state.

"Err, yeah. Just, not feeling well. I think I might go back to the lab if that's okay?" He asked quietly.

Russell nodded. "Of course, that's fine. You need anything give me a call."

Greg nodded back to him and slowly started to head back to his truck. "What's wrong with him?" Nick asked as he saw Greg walk away.

"Doesn't feel too well." Russell told him, looking at Greg again. Something wasn't right.

"I'll go with him if he's not well." Catherine said, catching the end of their conversation.

"Alright. We'll see you later then." Russell said with a smile.

Catherine followed after Greg and they made their way back to the lab.

X

"You've been awfully quiet. It's not like you." Catherine said, trying to entice Greg to talk.

'Mmh' was all that she got in response and it worried her more that the silence.

They were still on the way back to the lab and Greg was staring out the passenger window with his sunglasses on, leaning his head against the cold glass. His left arm was crossed over and Catherine noticed he kept fiddling with his shirt.

She pulled over the car and waited for Greg to look at her. "Talk to me Greg."

Greg sighed. "I knew him." He told her, but then turned to look out the window again.

Catherine nodded. "How? Was he a friend?"

Greg pushed his sunglasses further up his nose. "Yeah, he was my best friend." He told her quietly.

"I'm so sorry Greg." She reached over and rubbed his arm comfortingly.

Greg swallowed to rid the lump that had formed in his throat. His bottom lip quivered slightly as he fought to stay composed.

"Hey it's alright; we'll get who did this to him." Catherine told him confidently.

Greg nodded as a tear rolled down his cheek. "His name's Danny."

"And..." He stopped for a minute and took in a shaky breath. "He is gay. Me and him were... you know, together."

Catherine's mouth involuntary opened. Never in a million years would she have guessed.

"Oh my God. Greg I had no idea..." She stuttered out. "Are you going to be okay?"

Greg looked at her and gave a half smile. "Yeah. We've been together just under a year, it seems like forever though." He smiled some more, but tears were coming down his face. "He was such a good person you know. He didn't deserve this." He wiped his eyes under his glasses and Catherine enveloped him in a hug.

"I wish I'd got to meet him. I can't believe I never knew of him after a year. I didn't even know you were gay Greg."

Greg sniffed. "Yeah, I try to keep it quiet."

"Why?" Catherine asked, all this time she had known Greg but now it seemed she didn't know him at all.

"I don't want people to know. I don't wanna lose you guys." He told her and looked down.

"You won't lose us, why would you? None of us care that you're gay." Catherine told him bluntly.

Greg sighed. "I don't know."

"When did you know?" Catherine asked him, wanting to know more.

"Well, when I was about 16 I sort of knew I liked boys but I told myself that it was just stupid. A phase I was going through. College was tough. All these guys were around me, playing football and my mom didn't want me doing that, so they were all getting girls and stuff and I just didn't really know what to do with myself." Greg explained. "Then I got my first boyfriend when I was 22."

Catherine whistled. "Wow, big difference. I had my first boyfriend when I was 16." Greg smiled. "You didn't, you know, do anything then did you?" He asked shyly.

Catherine laughed. "Nooo. My mom would have killed me. I waited a few years; it was my 18th birthday when I first had sex. Hard to believe I know." She said with a smile.

Greg raised his eyebrows. "How about you?" Catherine asked him. She'd grabbed his hand because she could see he was nervous.

"Err." He took his sunglasses off and rubbed his eyes again. Catherine could see tears begin to shine again.

"Hey, come on. It's only me you're talking to." Catherine smiled.

"27." A tear rolled down his face. "Frigid I know." He nervously laughed and cried.

Catherine shook her head. "No, of course not. Was Danny your first?"

"Yeah. He's the only one I've ever done it with. Before him, I didn't dare try anything with anyone."

"So you've never been with a girl?"

Greg shook his head. "Nope. Just three guys, but Danny's the only one I did anything with. "

"I never knew this much about you. So who knows you're gay?" Catherine asked. Greg was becoming a little bit more comfortable talking to her about all of this but he was still nervous and quiet.

"My mom, and dad." He told her a nibbled his bottom lip.

"That's it? What about Nick?" Catherine asked him, she couldn't believe only his mom knew.

Laughing Greg said, "No, I wouldn't dare tell him."

Catherine frowned. "Why not?"

"Because he'd probably react like my dad did."

"What did your dad do?" Catherine asked with concern.

"Punched me in my jaw. And hit me to the ground. He said some stuff too; called me names. My mom tried to stop him but he was just crazy. 'No queer was a son of his' he shouted at me. After he'd done, he told me to pack my bags and leave the house."

"Your own dad did that to you!" She exclaimed. "Oh Greg, I can't imagine how horrible that must have been."

He nodded. "I don't want the same thing to happen with Nick. I bet his punches hurt." He tried to joke but Catherine wasn't laughing.

"You know Nick. He wouldn't do that."

Greg sighed. "I'm not too sure. You've seen him when he's angry."

Catherine knew exactly what he meant. Nick was as soft as a brush, but if he was upset or angry about something, he'd get violent. Not with people, but he wouldn't think twice about punching a wall or something.

"I think you should tell him." Catherine started. "You shouldn't have to hide this from anyone. It's who you are Greg, and nothing will change that."

Greg sighed again. "But what if everyone goes against me? What am I gonna' do?"

"They won't. Now come on, let's go to the lab and wait for them there."

She started up the car again and off they went to the lab.

X

**So what did you think? Please leave a review of what you thought :) x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank-you Marymel for your review! Hopefully any of you who are reading this enjoy it :) and if you have time, please drop a teeny tiny review! X **

Russell and the others had just got back from the scene and he went to his office. He was a bit confused when he saw Catherine and Greg sat in there. "Hey guys, what are you doing in here?"

Catherine turned around and smiled, "I was just leaving." She said as she stood up and smiled one last time at Greg before she left.

Russell walked around to the front of his desk and sat down opposite Greg. "So, what brings you in here?" He asked him with a smile.

Greg looked up. "I know the victim."

Russell lost his smile and scooted closer to his desk. "Okay, how well?"

Greg bit his lip and swallowed and Russell could see his Adams apple bounce up and down. "Erm... we, err..."

"Take your time, Greg." Russell said calmly. He could see the young CSI working himself up.

"He, err, he was..." He swallowed again. "Err, we were together." Greg immediately went back to chewing his bottom lip. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. Nobody knew he was gay, but soon that would all change. Soon everybody would know his biggest secret.

Russell raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, Greg." Greg nodded once but didn't say anything. "You know how this goes; you can't work the case, you can't even have anything to do with it, that clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Greg answered.

"Right. Where were you seven hours ago? Around six o'clock." Russell asked.

"At Danny's house."

Russell nodded. "I take it Danny is his name?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. What were you doing?"

"Sleeping. I got up at six-thirty, had a shower and then came to work. I was out the house for about six-fifty." Greg explained, wracking his brains to remember every specific detail.

Russell wrote down what Greg had said. "And where was Danny?"

Greg looked away but then back to Russell and said "He was still in bed."

"And you haven't been back to the house since then?"

"No."

Russell put his pen down. "Can you give us Danny's address? We'll need to go and check it out."

Greg nodded and wrote it down for him. "Russell," Tears formed in Greg's eyes. "My DNA's going to be everywhere in there. In his kitchen, in his bedroom, on the doors... you're gonna find me in his bed." Greg let out a shaky breath and his hands shook as they wiped away a few stray tears.

Russell smiled sadly. "Hey, don't worry about a thing, okay? I'll go to his house, I'll find out whatever we need to. Nobody else will even have to be there, okay?" Russell told him quietly.

Greg nodded. "You know Greg; the others are going to find out that you're gay. They're clever people, this won't get by them."

Greg sighed.

"I don't know if you want to give them a heads-up or let the evidence tell them, but they will find out, you know that."

"I know. I'll tell them." Greg told Russell. How did he know that the others didn't already know?

Russell smiled. "We'll find whoever did this. We're going to get some justice."

Greg gave him a tight smile. "Is there anything else I can do around here?"

Russell shook his head. "No, go home, take the day off tomorrow. Have some time to yourself."

Without another word, Greg stood up and left the room.

X

As soon as he shut the door to Russell's office, Greg ran into Nick.

"Hey man, you feeling better?" Nick smiled at him.

Greg smiled back, but he was sure Nick could see through it. "Have you got a minute? I need to talk to you."

Nick nodded, "Yeah, sure." He led himself and Greg into a light room after he saw no one was using it.

"What's up?" Nick asked after they'd both sat on a stool.

Greg gave him a nervous smile. "I don't really wanna tell you this, but I need to because you'll only find out later. Me and the victim, of the case you're on now, we were together."

Nick laughed, "I don't think so, the case I have now, it's a guy."

Greg cringed. This is exactly how he didn't want it to go. "Yeah."

Nick frowned. "But you're not into guys."

Greg stayed quiet and Nick's face slowly began to show more disgust.

"You're gay? Is this some sort of joke, man?"

Greg shook his head and looked down, "No."

Nick too shook his head. "_You're _gay?" He asked again. "Greg Sanders is gay!" He said loudly, and Greg quickly turned around and saw everybody looking at him.

He quickly stood up in front of Nick. "Can you keep your voice down...?" He drifted off quietly when Nick smiled at him.

"Keep my voice down? I've known you what, how many years? And you tell me this now!" He shook his head. "I can't believe you."

Nick walked out the room and as he got to the door he turned back to Greg. "You're gay..." He said one last time before thumping his fist on the glass and walking off.

Greg felt the eyes of everyone on him, so decided to swiftly make his way to the parking garage and head home.

X

Once he got home, he went straight to his bedroom to where there was a photo of him and Danny together. He stared at the picture and cried.

X

**Bit of a rubbish ending I know, but please tell us what you think! X **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews ****Marymel****, csiwannabe99 and guest! They are very much appreciated :) Here's the next chapter everyone! x**

"So I heard Greg knew the victim?"

Russell nodded. "Yeah, he was a close friend." He said, not sharing any other information which he didn't need to.

"Oh boy" Morgan said sadly, "That must have been a hard sight to see."

"Yeah, I've sent him home. Greg told me that his name was Danny Foster, 30 years old and confirmed that he was gay, so we can play this as a hate crime."

"Okay, well Hodges just ran the swabs I sent him, gave me some results. Although he was found naked, there was no sexual assault, and the fiber that Doc Robbins found in the vic's teeth was this…" She passed her case file over to Russell "a rare type of cotton, only manufactured in a few factories and sold in just as many."

Russell smiled. "This should help us narrow down who our killer is."

Morgan held up her hand. "That's not all, turn over."

Turning over the page, Russell smiled again. "Karl Burnet. Where'd you get his DNA from?"

"Blood, found in the victim's hair, on his scalp." Morgan explained.

"Great work. Let's bring this guy in and close this case as soon as possible."

"Brass is already on it." Morgan said as she smiled and walked off.

X

_Beep. _"Hey Greg, I just thought you'd want to know Danny's SAE kit came up negative. Nothing happened. We're working this case as fast as we can for you buddy; you just look after yourself alright? See you later." _Beep._

Greg listened to the message Russell left him but didn't pick himself up off the floor, from where he was leaning on his sofa. He had a blanket draped over him and a picture of Danny hugged to his chest.

His tears had long dried out, but the tear stains could still be seen on his cheeks.

There was a knock at his door which made him jump and Greg turned his head around to look at the door silently.

"Greg? I know you're in here, your car's outside." Greg didn't say anything in hopes that Sara would leave.

"Open up Greg, I want to talk to you. I want to see if you're alright."

Greg was debating getting up but decided against it. "Sara, can you come back at another time, I don't wanna talk." He then heard her try to get in.

"Come and unlock the door. I'm not going anywhere."

Sighing, Greg pulled himself up off the floor and walked to the door.

Sara smiled at him as he opened the door and gave her a small smile. Letting herself in she said, "How you holding up?"

"I'm alright." Greg told her, clearly lying.

She sat on his sofa and pretended not to notice the picture on the floor. "Morgan told me you knew the victim. I'm sorry."

Greg sat next to her and gave a sad smile, "It's alright. He was a good friend; he didn't deserve what happened to him." He looked down and sighed.

Sara grabbed his hand. "I know this probably isn't… the best time, but there's something going around at work. People are saying that you're… gay, Greg. Now, I don't know if that's true and I don't care. But I just want you to know that if you are or not, I'm here for you whenever you wanna talk, or just hang out. I'm only ever a call away you know that right?"

Greg looked up to her with watery eyes and nodded. "Who said that?"

"Err, a few of the lab techs have mentioned some things, but don't worry I told them to keep their mouths shut." She told him with another smile and a wink.

Greg nodded and felt more tears well up until they finally fell. Sara pulled him close and enveloped him into a hug and he let his tears fall once again.

"I didn't want anybody to know." He said into her shoulder.

Sara's heart broke for him. "So it's true." She said, stating the fact. "How did they find out, Greg?"

"Nick." He told her and pulled away. "I told him I was gay and he shouted it to everyone. They all looked at me and now they know."

"Nick told them all?"

Greg nodded. "Catherine said I should tell him, so I did and now he hates me." He put his head down and shook his head.

"Hey, he does not hate you-"

"Sara, you didn't see him. He was crazy. I've never seen him like that before." Greg interrupted.

Sara didn't say anything for a moment.

"You know Nick, sometimes he just doesn't think before he acts. And sometimes people get hurt because of it, but every time something happens, he sorts it out. He will this time too." Sara explained.

Greg shrugged. "I don't know, Sara. I don't think he's ever going to forgive me."

Sara frowned. "Greg, forgive you for what? Being gay isn't wrong it's who you are."

"But if I were normal this would have never happened." Greg argued.

"There is no such thing as normal, okay? So don't talk like that, not ever."

Greg smiled at her. "Right."

"Do you know anything about the case?" Greg asked after an awkward silence fell between them.

Sara shook her head. "No, I'm on a new case now so I've not heard anything. Sorry."

"It's okay. I just want whoever did this to be behind bars."

"Yeah me too, the teams working really hard. It won't be long before the scumbag's where he belongs."

Greg looked at Sara and nodded, hoping she was right.

X

Nick was sat in Russell's office, waiting for him to get back from wherever he was. It was only a few seconds later that Russell arrived.

"Hey Nick, what you doing in here?" he asked as he sat down, took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I don't wanna work this case."

Russell frowned. "Really? How come? I'd have thought you'd want to since the guy was a friend of Greg's."

Nick's jaw twitched. "Yeah, I just don't want to work it."

"Is everything alright? You don't usually want to swap cases." Russell told him leaning forward.

"Everything's fine, can you just let me work on something else. Please." Nick said agitated.

Russell nodded slowly. "That's fine, here you go." He said as he passed Nick a slip of paper.

"Thanks." Nick said before standing up to leave.

"Nick" Russell called as he got to the door.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you want to work this one? Huh?"

Nick sighed. "I don't think I should. I can't do this one."

Russell nodded and without another word Nick left.

X

Sara had gone after staying with Greg for a few hours as he shared stories with her about himself and Danny. As soon as she left, Greg went straight to his bedroom, exhausted.

He quickly stripped his shirt off and his jeans soon followed. But then, just as he moved the covers back ready to jump into bed, a hand curled itself over his mouth.

He froze in fear as two men came out from his on suite to join the other man holding him.

"My, my, aren't you a sweet thing to look at?" One of the guys said as they stepped forward, licking his lips.

Greg tried to struggle with the man who had his hand over his mouth as his right hand travelled down his bare chest, getting to the waistband of his boxers.

"Hey Greg, why are you putting up such a fight? Danny was as submissive as they come." The third man said.

Greg tried not to let the words effect him as he continued to try and get free. However, he soon stopped when a gun was pulled on him and put against his left temple.

"Your boy got lucky, we hardly even touched him, but you… we can have all sorts of fun together." The man said with a mad smile.

Greg shook his head, and the rest of him began to tremble as the hand on his stomach went under his waistband and into his boxers.

He reached up, and to his surprise, was allowed to move the hand from around his mouth.

"Please… you can take what you want… I won't tell anyone you were here."

Laughter erupted throughout the three men. "We aint going anywhere, boy. Now get on the bed."

Greg didn't move from where he stood, the gun was still pressed to his head.

"You need help?" The man with the gun said.

"Please don't do this… I can get you money… anything…"

"We said get on the bed, now move." A guy interrupted.

Greg slowly made his way over to his bed after a not so gentle prod by the guy who had previously had his hands down Greg's underwear.

His covers were removed, so all there was left was the mattress and under sheet. He sat down slowly on the edge of the bed.

"Lie down."

He slowly swung his sock clad feet up onto his bed and laid down. One man grabbed his arms and lifted them up to tie his wrists together and Greg began to struggle again, as if only just realizing the seriousness of the situation.

A second man climbed on top of his waist, making his struggles feeble and useless.

The same man bent down for a kiss and when Greg moved his head away, he was punched harshly in the face.

The man tried again, but Greg wouldn't go down without a fight, so the man punched him again. "You can keep fighting, but you're just making this harder than it has to be."

Greg felt tears well up but refused to let them fall as he continued to resist. But soon all the blows to his head and face took their toll and he was unable to fight any longer.

X

**Please review **** x **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews Matt143, Marymel, ****InsaneMembrane****, csiwannabe99 and ****danita3****! They mean a lot, sorry for the loooong wait! But here's the next chapter :) x **

The team were in silence as they sat around the hospital bed Greg was in. His face was discoloured and his right cheek was swollen, forcing his eye to stay shut. His jaw had been dislocated and a large gash ran from his head, over his right eye and onto the swollen cheek.

His ribs had been cracked, broken and bruised. His neck was black where hands had been wrapped around it. Luckily no arms or legs were broken, but there was something much worse.

When the team were told, none of them could believe it. Catherine had cried and so did Morgan. Sara managed to keep herself composed, just like Nick and Russell, but the look on their faces was all the same. Remorse, sadness and concern.

At least they'd used a condom.

Nick sat closest to Greg's head, watching the mask over his face fog up as he breathed heavily. He felt awful, after what he'd done when he found out Greg was gay.

Why did he do it? Why had he been so… so offended? Nick had no idea why he reacted the way he did; he wasn't homophobic, was he? No. Nick wouldn't allow himself to be. God, he was so mean to Greg.

Greg stirred in his bed and everybody's heads snapped up. His eyes moved underneath their lids and soon enough, his left eye cracked open. Everyone smiled down at him, including Nick. "Hey man."

Greg frowned and winced as he looked around the best he could. "Danny?"

X

Greg's landlord was going down the corridor when he noticed a door open. Wide open.

He knocked on the open door, "Mr. Sanders?"

When he got no answer, he cautiously stepped inside and looked around. "Mr. Sanders?" He called again. He went further through the place looking in each room. When he got to the end one, the bedroom, he stopped.

Greg was unconscious on his bed, naked, with blood covering his sheets. His landlord rushed forward and felt for a pulse, sighing in relief when he saw one "Don't worry; help is on its way." He whipped out his phone and dialed 911. Whilst on the phone, he grabbed a blanket he found over a chair and draped it over Greg's body, and then waited for help to arrive.

X

The team had been informed as soon as the paramedics had left the flat, Brass finding out first and breaking the news to the team. He'd seen Greg and the kid was a mess. He wasn't even that close to Greg, but Russell had told him about Greg and Danny and he just thought it was so unfair. The poor boy had been through enough without being attacked himself. But unfortunately it had happened and now, it was their job to find the men responsible.

X

Nick looked around to the others at a loss.

"Greg, it's us, the whole team's here." Catherine told him, scooting closer to Nick.

Greg frowned again. "Where's Danny?" He asked, in a whisper, underneath the mask.

The team exchanged sad glances with each other.

"Danny's not here, Greg. Don't you remember what happened?" Russell asked him.

Greg shook his head on the pillow. "Where is he? I want him here."

"I'm sorry, buddy, but he can't come." Russell answered him softly.

"Why not?" Greg asked and looked up to him. His speech was slurred slightly from both the damage to his jaw and the drugs in his system.

Russell took a deep breath in. "He's not with us anymore, Greg. He…" He sighed. "He's dead."

Greg shook his head gently. "No, where is he? I need him." He whispered and tears crept into his eyes.

"Greg…" Catherine began.

"I need him." Greg interrupted her and his voice shaked.

"Greg, come here." Catherine said and stood up to sit on the edge of Greg's bed and pull him into her. "I'm sorry Greg." She spoke again when he cried into her shoulder.

The rest of the team sat there, not knowing what to do. It was ten minutes later when Greg finally dropped back to sleep and the team were left in silence.

X

"Hey man."

Greg looked either side of him and saw no one else in the room. No one except…

"Nick."

Nick smiled down at him tentatively. "How you feelin'?"

Greg shrugged a little. "I'm okay." He told him quietly, looking down.

Nick swallowed. "You know… I'm really sorry. About how I acted when you told me…" He took a deep breath. "Really I am.

Greg kept his head down. "It's fine. You don't like me being gay, I get it."

"No, man. I don't mind, you're my best friend. I don't care what you like or want, I'm here whatever." Nick argued.

Greg laughed slightly, huffing through his nose. "Yeah? Then how come you humiliated me in front of all my friends at the lab?" He asked quietly but sternly.

"Look Greg…"

"No Nick, you look." Greg told him with a raised voice. "How can you say that I'm your 'best friend' when you, you shout and yell at me when I'm at work, after I told you something that's so, so… personal?

"I'd never told you or anyone except my parents about that until yesterday and, and, and you think you can just shout that out?" He asked shakily, messing up his words. "That's not fair. I didn't want everyone to know! If I did, I would have told them already. Do you know how much shit I'm going to get because of this? Huh, do you?" Greg spat at him, sounding angry, however it was out of sadness.

Nick looked down. "Greg, you've no idea how bad I feel because of how I acted. And I know that you'll probably hate me for it forever, which it is totally fair. But I honestly want you to know that this changes nothing between us, you're still my best friend, and I don't care that you're gay."

Greg looked at him skeptically. "So there's not a little bit of you that minds me being gay?"

Nick shook his head. "No."

"Then look at me whilst you say it." Greg told him.

Nick looked up and opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't.

"Well," Greg started, "at least I know what you really think."

"_No. _There is a little part of me that's bothered, but it's only because I wish you'd have told me sooner." Nick told him, looking at him the whole time.

Greg sighed. "Really?"

"Really."

Greg nodded once, unsure whether to believe him. "I thought you were gonna' hit me."

Nick felt a smile tug at his lips. "Why'd you think that?"

Greg shrugged. "That's what a lot of people seem to do."

Nick's small smile soon went. "Why? Who?"

"My Dad, he kind of disowned me after I told him.

"I didn't even tell anyone at school, they just knew somehow and liked to you know, rough me up a little when they could. That's one of the reasons my mom didn't want me doing sports, all the kids would beat me up in the locker room."

"Did you tell anyone about it?" Nick asked him concerned.

"No, there was no point. I'd rather just get on with it rather than getting anyone else involved. It would just cause more trouble."

Nick nodded in understanding.

After neither of them said anything for a while, Greg spoke up again quietly. "Will you find the guys who did this?"

Nick looked at him and nodded. "Of course, man. I can do that for you."

Greg shook his head. "Don't do for me. Do it for Danny."

X

**Please leave a review if you have the time! And thank you so much for reading! x **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews Marymel and ****csiwannabe99, love to hear your feedback! Please enjoy this next chapter **** x **

"Hey Greg, what are you doing here?" Catherine asked as Greg joined her and the team at the lab.

He was covered in bruises from head to toe and a long scab had formed on his face. "I was bored at home, I thought I could come and help out." He told everyone with a weak smile.

Everyone shared glances. "Err, I'm afraid you can't help Greg, we're working your case." Russell told him.

Greg frowned. "My case? You really think there's a case here?"

"Well yeah, this has got to be connected with... with Danny's case." Nick told him calmly. "It can help us catch those guys."

"You know no one's going to buy whatever evidence you find? They're not gonna' take this seriously."

"Why wouldn't they?" Morgan asked him as he still stood in the doorway.

"Because... you know" he told them, suddenly quiet, "they'll say it was... they'll say it... they won't believe it was..." He told them with a quiet voice looking down, unable to finish his sentence.

"But we can still get them for beating you up." Nick told him. And he was right.

"Right. I guess I'll go back to my hotel then." Greg said, slightly detached.

He'd been staying in the hotel for a week now, obviously not being able to go back home after it became a 'scene'.

"There's a B and E that we were going to hand over to days, if you wanna' do that?" Russell asked him as he'd turned to go.

"Am I going to be on my own?" Greg asked hesitantly.

Before Russell could speak up, Nick did. "No, I can go with you."

Greg nodded. "Okay, I'll go get my kit." He said quietly as he limped slightly down the hall.

Russell turned to Nick. "Nick, why do you think we were going to hand it over? We need you here."

"But he wants to do something and he doesn't wanna' go alone. I think it's only reasonable he can go to a scene with someone." Nick argued. "I'll see you guys later" he told them as he pulled his gloves off and left the room.

X

"You sure you're up for this?" Nick asked Greg as they were making their way to the scene.

Greg looked over to him and nodded. "Yeah. I'm alright."

Nick looked doubtful but didn't say anything else. So they sat in silence for a while.

"Greg? Greg!" Nick called and gentle touched Greg's arm.

"Don't touch me!" Greg yelled startled as he woke from his slumber. He'd dropped off to sleep not long after they'd set off and once they'd arrived Nick had called him numerous times to try and wake him.

"Alright, alright." Nick told him with his hands raised in surrender. "Sorry man, I was just trying to wake you up. You look pretty tired. Have you... you been sleeping alright?" He asked cautiously.

Greg eyed him up, debating whether to tell him the truth or not. "Yeah, I've been sleeping fine." He quickly undid his belt and got out the car as fast as he could, which wasn't very quick.

Nick followed him and chose not to bring it up again whilst they were at their scene. He kept an eye on Greg and noticed how he tried to avoid bending down whenever possible. The poor guy was still in pain.

"How's it going at the hotel?" Nick asked him in general conversation.

Greg looked over to him. "It's... a hotel." He said with a slight laugh.

"So it's not that great" Nick said and laughed to which Greg raised his eyebrows. "You know, the offer still stands for you to come stay at my place."

"No I couldn't do that. Besides, it can't be long until I can go back to my own place." Greg told him whilst bagging some evidence.

Nick lifted his head in surprise. "You're actually going to go back there? Live there?"

Greg looked at him with a frown, "What? Why not?"

"Greg, you were ra- attacked there" Nick corrected before saying it. Greg wouldn't allow anyone to say that word around him. Since the incident, he had refused to talk about it and tried to pretend nothing had ever happened. But everyone saw through it and noticed the slight changes in him.

"Those people know where you live." Nick continued.

"You think they're gonna' come back?" Greg asked him nervously.

Nick shrugged stiffly. "Who knows, it's possible. Why don't you stay with me? Just for a little while?"

Greg shook his head with a mumbled laugh. "You don't want that."

"What, why wouldn't I?" Nick asked confused.

"Not long ago, you hated the fact I was gay, now you want me over at your house?" Greg asked him incredulously.

Nick spun around quite angrily. "I thought we cleared this up? I'm not bothered."

"Oh yeah? So you wouldn't be thinking all the time that I might sneak into your bedroom, or that I might get a bit too close for comfort, huh?" Greg told him with an irritated voice.

"Why won't you listen to me? I don't care that you're gay." Nick told him in an angry tone.

Greg shook his head. "People don't change that quickly."

"You have." Nick retaliated, but as soon as he'd said it, he immediately wanted to take it back.

Greg spun around on the heels of his feet from his crouched position on the floor. "What did you say?" He asked quietly.

Nick sighed. "I didn't mean it."

Greg stood up. "I'm done here; I'll see you back at the lab." He said icily as he walked by Nick.

"Greg wait! I'm sorry!" Nick shouted, but it was too late.

X

"Hey Morgan, have you seen Greg?" Nick asked as he walked out of Hodges lab.

"Err, no I haven't, why?" She replied as they walked through the lab.

"I need to talk to him."

"Haven't you just been to a scene with him?" She asked confused.

Nick looked in each room as they passed by. "Yeah, but I... I just need to talk to him." Nick settled on saying.

Morgan frowned sceptically. "Well I hope you find him."

She left Nick and carried on down the hall and into the locker room. "Greg."

He looked up to her and smiled slightly. "Hey Morgan."

She sat next to him with a smile. "Nick's looking for you."

"I know." Greg said and looked down.

"What's going on between you two?" She asked him outing a hand on his leg.

He quickly moved his leg from under her touch and breathed heavily. "I'm sorry."

Morgan shook her head. "Don't be."

"So... you and Nick?" She asked again, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them.

He glanced up to her and then back down. "Have I changed? Since... this whole thing?"

Morgan was a bit taken back. "Well, of course. I mean, I'd be worried if you hadn't changed after everything that's gone off."

"Have I changed in a bad way?" Greg asked her looking up.

"Not really." Morgan answered.

"But, do you guys still want to hang around with me?"

Morgan nodded her head. "Of course we do Greg. We love you, nothing can ever change that. You're still the Greg we've always known."

Greg shook his head. "But who is that? Who is the Greg you've always known?"

Morgan shuffled closer. "Well, he's kind; all he wants to do is impress people. He's crazy at times, funny... loving" Morgan said quieter as she moved closer again, and her and Greg's head's got closer until their lips touched.

They stayed there for what seemed like minutes until Greg pulled away. He had a shocked look on his face and swore. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit!"

Morgan looked back at him, not believing what had just happened.

"I have to go." Greg said and jumped off the bench.

Morgan just sat there not knowing what to do.

X

"Please forgive me." Greg begged as he sat on a chair in the morgue, over Danny's body.

Tears were rolling down his face and he was finding it hard to contain his sobs.

"I don't know why I did it, I don't. I'm so sorry; I didn't want that to happen."

He heard the morgue doors open and turned around briefly to see who it was. Doc Robbins.

"Greg? Are you alright?" He asked as he came over to where Greg sat.

Greg shook his head with more tears creeping down his face. Doc pulled a chair up next to him and sat down.

"You know that you shouldn't be down here." He said softly.

Greg sniffed and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry, I just, I had to see him."

Doc Robbins nodded in understanding and gently rested his on the younger man's lower back. "I'm sorry for your loss, Greg. I truly am."

Greg nodded and let out a small sob. "Yeah so am I."

Doc rubbed his back sympathetically. "God only takes the good ones. And he does it for a reason."

Greg turned to look at him. "What's his reason for this then? Cause right now, I don't think there is one."

"There is a reason. I know it doesn't seem like it yet, but you'll realise it someday."

They both turned around when the doors opened again.

"Here you are- are you okay?" Nick asked when Greg turned back around, seeing the tears in his face briefly beforehand.

Doc smiled slightly at him and rubbed Greg's back. "He's just having a moment with Danny. I think we should wait outside." He said as he stood up, cane in hand.

He and Nick went outside the morgue doors and Doc sighed. "Poor boy."

Nick nodded sadly in agreement. "Yeah." Doc Robbins looked at him questionably when he didn't say anything more and was tense.

"Are _you_ alright, Nick?"

Nick turned his head to him, mouth open a little. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright. This whole thing's just tough on him, and I don't think I'm helping."

"Well, whatever you think you're doing wrong, Greg doesn't care. He just needs his friend right now."

Nick nodded. "Yeah he does."

X

**So did you enjoy it? Please review and let me know **** x **


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